Has anyone ever pondered on how unstable a United Ireland could be? What block would gain seats in the North. SF obviously but you would end up with some very strange and stretched coalitions.

mickhall

crat

But is Italy unstable, whilst it is true it has had a good few governments since WW2, much of this political instability came about due to the meddling of outside forces, which led to the USA making it pretty clear it would not stand by and allow a Communist Party administration.

Indeed the fall of Prodi may well be the back end of this legacy, i e his insistence on not upsetting the US admin by turning down it request to doubly the size of it base. Before sluggerites think I am going paranoid, the Bush crew must have been aware before they made this request that it would rock Prodi’s government. By continuing with this provocation, it is difficult not to conclude that they were paying back Prodi for withdrawing troops from iraq, and in the process sending out a message to Brown, that if he like Prodi withdraws all UK troops from Iraq, their will be consequences.

As to Italy and its wonderful people, the country itself has muddled along and its people have lived pretty decent lives since the 1960s and despite its political and economic ups and downs democracy is secure.

Metacom

The unionists would run a united Ireland. Without the national question you’d move to two normal left/right blocs like everywhere else. The unionists would position themselves in the middle and decide which bunch they throw in with each cycle.

GrassyNoel

Yeah, ye probably are – I notice that photo of the Italian parliament on the BBC website shows several MPs with their hands raised in a Glasgow Rangers’ fan-style salute…looks like a pretty open & shut case.

Crataegus

Mickhall

I could well believe your theory and what I like about Italy is their healthy disregard for authority.

Matcom

From a position of no real power to a position of being pivitol!

Plum Duff

There’s this myth around the ‘first past the post’ system of government that this is the only stable form of government and that PR, STV and variations thereof lead to instability. I cannot buy that. Would anyone say that the last term of the major government was ‘stable’ when he was grubbing around and begging votes from NI MPs. Or up to and when when James Callaghan was eventually brought down by the vote of Gerry Fitt. It may not be pleasant for the majority party who can’t call the shots, as they would like to, but the governance of the country goes on irrespectively. In other words the government and the country, at each time, was stable.

Similarly in coalition governments. Italy, Ireland, etc. have had coalition gov’ts since whenever. Again, same difference. The majority party can’t get its own way and so has to enter a coalition and compromise. The permanent gov’t, Civil Service, carries on regardless, trade goes on and the only thing out of kilter is the blood pressure of those who want to stay in power.

Italy is a stable democracy and will arrive at its own solution to this current hiccup. If anything, coalitions in Italy have helped to keep the extremists in check although the robber baron, Berlusconi, seemed to override that hurdle – for a while anyway.

Plum Duff

Sorry, **Major** government

Greenflag

Overheard

One Italian is a poet
Two Italians make an opera
Three Italians make an army in retreat
Four Italians make a new Government
Add them all up together and you get
10 Italians plus one more makes
11 Italians World Cup Champions .

When prices rose sharply as a result of Il Duce’s costly war agains the Abyssinians in the 1930’s a shopper asked his greengrocer how much the figs were :
‘Three figs – one hundred and fifty lire .’ said the greegrocer
‘ Good heavens ,’ gasped the customer ,’how’s that possible ?’
‘Well , sir it isn’t the figs that are worth so many lire it’s the lire that isn’t worth a fig !’

mickhall

Mickhall

I could well believe your theory and what I like about Italy is their healthy disregard for authority.

Crataegus

Me to, and with todays crop of RoI/UK politicians, what-ever their politics, it is the only position a rational person can take.